


Panther in the Woods

by TxCreampuff



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Carmilla as a panther, F/F, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-11-27 23:57:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18200729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TxCreampuff/pseuds/TxCreampuff
Summary: Laura moves halfway around the world to live with her Dad after her mom dies. She meets a mysterious barista with a conniving mother and she keeps seeing a panther in the forest.I'm terrible at summaries. I'll probably add to it later. Rating will go up as the story progresses.Work in Progress.





	1. Chapter 1

Laura woke up as the plane touched down. She looked out the window, the sun was just starting to rise over the mountains in the distance. She sighed, she was home she supposed. She had been born in Nachttal, a small town in Austria but she never really thought of it as home. She lived here for the first three years of her life, until her parents got divorced. The last time she had been in Styria she was ten. 

The ride to her dad’s house was a little awkward. He was excited that she was going to live with him, despite the circumstances. Laura was grateful that she was getting a fresh start, but she missed her mom and she missed Toronto. Styria couldn’t be more different than the bustling city.

After she unpacked her things, she went downstairs to find her dad in the garage working on his boat. “I’m going for a walk.”

He looked up, a little concern in his eyes. “Do you have your bear spray?”

She smiled a little and held up a bag with seven cans of homemade bear spray he made for her. “Of course.”

“Okay, be careful. The Steiner’s swear they saw something in the woods a few weeks ago. It was probably a wolf.”

Laura headed down the path in the woods behind his house that led to a little pond. She remembered the summers when her and her mom would visit. They would all go down to the pond for picnics or just to explore the woods. The path seemed shorter than she remembered it seven years ago. When she got to the pond, she found a tree to sit under and just watched the animals around the pond. A deer was getting a drink at the far end of the pond and hadn’t seen her approach. She watched it for a long time, just nibbling on patches of grass. She made a mental note to bring her sketch pad the next time she was out here. 

She heard a racket in the trees near her and looked up to see two red squirrels fighting in the trees, their tails twitching furiously. She watched them chase each other around the trees for several minutes. Her gaze went back to the deer, who was closer now and stood there, frozen. It was watching and listening intently to something in the woods to her left. Laura looked carefully in between the trees but she didn’t see anything. She had a peculiar feeling that she was being watched. The deer suddenly darted off in to the woods like something had spooked it. She looked up in the trees and the squirrels were gone. The birds had all gone silent. She felt really uneasy and decided it was time to go back to the house. She took out a can of the bear spray just in case. She felt as if someone or something was watching her until she got in sight of the house. She thought she saw something black moving out of the corner of her eye but when she looked, nothing was there.

Later that evening, Laura was getting ready for bed, she turned out the lights, and went to the window to close the curtains. She paused and squinted into the blackness. In the trees, she saw a very large black cat looking up at her. Maybe this was what the neighbors had seen? She quickly went down the stairs and called out to her father, “Dad, I think I see what the neighbors saw in the woods. It looks like a panther.”  
She went to the sliding glass door that was facing the direction she had just seen the animal, but there was only the blackness of the forest staring back at her. “I just saw it…” She trailed off.  
“Well, whatever it was, I don’t think it’s a panther. There aren’t any panthers in Austria. Maybe it was a bear?”  
Laura grinned, still not convinced. Her dad and bears. “Yeah, maybe.”

***

The next morning Laura woke up and checked her phone. It had been a month since her mom passed away. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. Her dad would be getting up soon. She decided she needed to keep herself busy and went downstairs to make breakfast. She made blueberry muffins and toast. Simple, but it was her dad’s favorite. 

“Wow. Good morning! I could get used to this.” He sat down at the table. 

“I was thinking about going in to work today. Are you okay with that? I could stay home if you want?” He asked, in between bites. 

“Dad, go to work. I’ll be fine. I was thinking about going in to town later today just to have a look around.” 

He eyed her for a moment. “Alright, I’ll leave you the car keys. I’ll take the bike to work.” 

“Are you sure, I could take the bike- “ 

“No, take the car. It’s a nice day out. I haven’t taken the bike out in a while.” 

He got up, put both of their empty plates in the dishwasher and kissed Laura on her forehead. “Alright, I’ll see you later. Be careful.”

“You too, Dad.” The sudden emotion in her voice made him look up. 

“Hey,” he said softly, stepping over to her to give her a hug, “I can stay here with you if you want, okay? Just say the word.”

“No, Dad. I’m fine.” She wiped away a little tear that had formed. “You go to work. I can meet you at that diner for lunch if you want?” 

He hugged her one more time. “Fenrir’s? That sounds great! I’ll see you at noon. Remember, it’s just like Canada. You drive on the right side of the road here, okay?”

Later that morning she was craving a good cup of coffee, she grabbed the keys and drove the five miles into town. Nachttal was a very small town so there weren’t many people out this morning. 

She walked into a small café called Michipeshu that caught her eye. 

The bell chimed as she walked inside. A dark-haired woman, about her age looked up from the book she was reading. “Guten Morgen. Wie Gehts?” 

“Guten Morgen. Sorry, I’m a little rusty on my Austrian German. Sprichst du englisch?” 

She smiled, “What can I get you?” 

“A melange, please.”

The woman turned and started to fix her coffee. “I’m surprised, most Americans that come through here ask for a cappuccino, but they don’t know what they are actually ordering.”

Laura took a seat at the counter and laughed. “I’m from Toronto.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

They were both quiet for a moment. Then the dark-haired woman spoke again. “Are you just passing through or visiting for a while?”

“I just moved here to live with my dad, Sherman Hollis.”

“Oh, the editor, down at the paper?”

She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Of course, everyone knew everyone else in this town. “Yes.”

She turned and gave Laura her coffee. Their eyes locked. She had the most beautiful brown eyes that were vaguely familiar. “I was very sorry to hear about your mom.”

Laura was surprised and touched to hear this level of sincerity from this complete, yet gorgeous stranger. “Thank you.” She broke the intense eye contact and took a sip of coffee then changed the subject. “I was surprised to see something called Michipeshu all the way in Styria.”

The other woman smirked like there was an inside joke that Laura didn’t know. “Yeah, the owner is,” She paused to find the right words, “very fond of panthers. Are you familiar with the legend?”  
The woman’s gaze was unwavering like she was trying to unravel all of Laura’s secrets.

“Michipeshu is an underwater panther with horns and a very long tail that drowns people if they try to steal the copper around its home.”

“It’s also said to be a shape shifter.” She smirked again, then turned away from Laura to clean the counter she had just used.

“I saw a panther last night.” Laura suddenly blurted out unable to help herself.

The woman froze for a moment then laughed. “Oh? I don’t think there are any panthers in Nachttal.” She answered dismissively. 

She looked up as an older blonde man walked in. “Hey, Alex! It’s about time! I’m already late!” 

Laura took another sip of coffee.

Why did I order coffee? I should have just stuck to hot cocoa.

The barista turned back to Laura and flashed a smile. “Will I be seeing you around?” 

Laura could have sworn she almost purred, but she was distracted by her smile.

Laura could feel herself starting to blush. Shit. What did she ask me?

She stopped smiling. 

“Oh my God, I must look like an idiot just staring at her.” Laura thought, very embarrassed now.

“Sorry, um, I mean in school. Or are you leaving after summer break?” She clarified.

“Oh. Sorry. Yes, I’m going to spend my senior year here.”

The brunette smiled widely. She took off her apron and completely ignored Alex who had just come in from the back room. “What’s your name?”

She was already walking toward the door. 

“Laura.”

“I’m Carmilla. I’ll see you around then, cutie.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts off very similar to the first chapter so I thought I’d post it today. I’m hoping I can post the next chapter by Monday morning. Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

Carmilla sighs as she turns the page bitterly. The café was dead. She hated her mother for forcing her to stay in Nachttal and do her biding in this town that had nothing better to do than gossip all the time. The only thing anyone had been talking about for the last week and a half was the death of the newspaper editor’s ex-wife. She tried to ignore the gossip, she hated it. Even more than that she hated herself for not having anything better to do yesterday than to check out the girl that had just arrived in town. The new girl did spoil her hunt, but Carmilla didn’t hold that against her. She checked the clock and rolled her eyes. Only a few more minutes until Alex was supposed to be here.

“Why did I even hire that useless stoner?”, she thought bitterly.

She continued reading until the door opened and the bell chimed, signaling that a customer had walked in. Carmilla looked up. The new girl walked in looking exhausted. What was her name again? Lorna? “Guten Morgen. Wie Gehts?”

Carmilla knew she was from somewhere in Canada. She didn’t pay much attention to the small-town gossip but there were somethings she just couldn’t help but pick up on. She loved Canada. She was thinking about doing more hunting in Alberta with Mattie when they left Nachttal and her and her mother parted ways for a while. She missed the thrill and challenge of hunting moose, caribou, and grizzly bears.

“Guten Morgen. Sorry, I’m a little rusty on my Austrian German. Sprichst du englisch?”

So, she did speak a little German. Carmilla smiled, “What can I get you?”

“A melange, please.” Carmilla turned around to start fixing her order and decided to mess with her. Why shouldn’t she tease her a little?

“I’m surprised, most Americans that come through here ask for a cappuccino, but they don’t know what they are actually ordering.”

The smaller girl took a seat at the counter and laughed. “I’m from Toronto.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

They were both quiet for a moment while Carmilla continued to fix her drink. “Are you just passing through or visiting for a while?”

“I just moved here to live with my dad, Sherman Hollis.”

Carmilla could hear the sadness in her voice even though it was very well masked. “Oh, the editor, down at the paper?” She asked, nonchalantly. Carmilla glanced at her as she was finishing up her order and had to stifle a laugh at the slightly annoyed expression on the girl’s face.

“Yes.” She said a little stiffly.

She turned around and placed the coffee in front of her. Their eyes locked. There was so much sadness in her eyes. She heard the blonde’s heart speed up ever so slightly. Carmilla suddenly couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl. She remembered the keen sting of losing her parents. Not that she remembered much of that life anymore. “I was very sorry to hear about your mom.”

She looked surprised. “Thank you.” She looked at her coffee and took a sip then changed the subject. “I was surprised to see something called Michipeshu all the way in Styria.”

Of course! She was from Canada. She had to have heard the story at least once. She smirked thinking that this naive young woman would run away screaming if she knew the truth. 

“Yeah, the owner is,” She paused, “very fond of panthers. Are you familiar with the legend?” She locked eyes with her trying to figure out if she believed even an ounce of the legend.

“Michipeshu is an underwater panther with horns and a very long tail that drowns people if they try to steal the copper around its home”

Carmilla was impressed. She was pretty and she knew her mythology, but she didn’t seem to believe any of it. It was probably safer that way.<

“It’s also said to be a shape shifter.” Carmilla smirked again, amusing herself as she heard her heartbeat speed up again. She turned away to start cleaning up.

“I saw a panther last night.” The other woman said making Carmilla freeze for a moment.

Shit. I knew I should have been more careful.

She forced a laugh. “Oh? I don’t think there are any panthers in Nachttal.” She said dismissively.

She looked up as an older blonde man walked in. “Hey, Alex! It’s about time! I’m already late!”

She turned back and flashed a smile to the girl who was drinking her coffee again, she did not look like she was enjoying it. “Will I be seeing you around?” 

It was so easy to make the blood rush to her cheeks. She was staring at her mouth. “Shit,” she thought. “Are my fangs out?” She stopped smiling and checked with her tongue. Nope, no fangs.

The blonde looked flustered and confused by her question.

“Sorry, um, I mean in school. Or are you leaving after summer break?” She clarified. Maybe she wasn’t into women?

“Oh. Sorry. Yes, I’m going to spend my senior year here.” Excellent. In spite of herself she was actually looking forward to seeing her again.

She smiled wide and her eyes lit up. She took off her apron and completely ignored Alex who had just came in from the back room.

“What’s your name?” She asked as she was walking toward the door.

“Laura.”

“I’m Carmilla. I’ll see you around then, cutie.”

***

The next morning was busy but Carmilla was pleasantly surprised to see Laura and her Dad walk in for breakfast.

Laura’s father didn’t come in every day, but he came in enough that Carmilla knew his order. 

“Good morning Mr. Hollis. Your usual scone and coffee?”

“Yes, thank you.”

She turned to Laura. “Do you want a mélange again this morning?”

Laura cleared her throat. “Um, no thanks. Do you have hot cocoa?”

A smiled played at the corner of her lips. “Sure. I’ll bring it to you.”

They sat down at a booth in the back corner of the café. As she was making their order her ears picked up Mr. Hollis saying her name. She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, it just happened. Or so she told herself.

“I see you’ve already met Carmilla.”

“I was feeling really jet lagged yesterday so I came by for some coffee.”

Sherman laughed.

“I think I’ll stick to my hot cocoa from now on though.”

“Carmilla seems like a good kid.”

Carmilla grimaced. Unfortunately, you won’t be thinking that for much longer.

“She’s a little rough around the edges but you can’t blame her. She’s taking care of her mother by herself in that big house of theirs. The Gruber’s offered to help when they first moved here. Mrs. Gruber is a hospice nurse, but they declined. She told them that her mother won’t accept help from strangers. I understand being proud but…”

The brunette shook her head and thought, “If you only knew the real monster that my mother is, that I am, you’d lead the town mob straight to our doorstep.”

“Dad come on. You don’t know the whole story.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t assume. I’m sorry. It’s good that you’re finding kids your age to hang out with already.”

Carmilla brings them their order with a smirk then goes back to the counter to help the Steiner’s. They were a young couple who got married a few months after Carmilla and her mother moved to town a few years ago.

She greets them with a smile. “Good morning Hector, Anna. Two large coffees to go?”

Anna looks at Hector like he hung all the stars in the sky and touches his arm.

“Just a water for me today.”

“I’ll have a coffee to go. Thanks.”

Carmilla tried to keep her facial expressions light and happy.

Please, not yet. I don’t want to do this yet.

“I’ll get those out to you.” She smiled a little stiffly. 

They went straight over to where Laura and her dad were finishing up their breakfast.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning! Laura this is Hector and Anna. They’re our neighbors. Hector works with me over at the paper.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Nice to meet you too.”

“Do you want to join us?”

“No. That’s okay, I’m on my way to work. We just wanted to share some news with you.”They paused for dramatic effect. 

Carmilla held her breath. “Please be anything else but- “

“We’re pregnant!!”

Fuck.

Carmilla walked over to them while everyone was congratulating them and gave them their drinks on the house. Then she went to the back room and growled at Alex.

“Alex, please, get off your fucking phone and get your ass out there. I’m taking off early.”

She glowered at him as he moved at a fucking snail’s pace toward the counter.

She slumped down on the couch and put her head in her hands and tried to block out all of the noise coming from the café. She needed to get out of here. If she couldn’t escape her mother’s clutches, she could at least burn off some steam and go for a run.

She took a few deep breaths, slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the break room doors. She glanced at the back-corner booth. Laura was sitting there alone, drawing in a notebook.

A new plan was forming in her mind. She slid into the booth and grinned at Laura. “Hey, cupcake. What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out what I’m going to do the rest of the day. What are you doing?”

“I’m thinking about going for a hike. Do you want to join me?”

Laura hesitated. “I don’t know. I have to pick up my dad after work. I would love to go hiking though.”

Carmilla tilted her head. “I can have you back before five.”

Laura grinned. “Okay. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first fanfic that I’ve ever done. I’m looking for a beta reader that I can bounce ideas off of and to keep me motivated. If you would like to do that, or give me feedback on this story send me a DM on Tumblr I-have-many-skills   
> Or Instagram amanda_184  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Laura followed Carmilla’s car to a trailhead about a mile past her house.

“I can’t believe I never knew about this place. It’s so close to the house.”

“It’s a nice trail. I like coming up here on the weekdays. There is no one on the trail.”

Carmilla opened the back door to her car, took off her work shirt and put another one on.

“Um…yeah. That does sound nice. You go hiking a lot?”

“You sound surprised.” Carmilla looked back at her as she headed up the trail.

“Well…you just don’t seem like the outdoorsy type.” Carmilla laughed loudly.

They walked for about five minutes in silence until Carmilla noticed Laura was stopped, just looking up at the trees, frowning.

“What’s up?”

“I don’t see anything.”

“Okay…?”

“No, I mean, I haven’t seen any birds or squirrels since we started walking.”

“Oh.” Carmilla paused for a moment, listening. “Do you hear that?”

“What?”

“Go on around that corner, I think I hear a bird over there.”

Laura eyed her suspiciously but she walked around the corner.

“Carmilla! Come here I think it’s a quail.”

Carmilla slowly rounded the corner but the bird flew off. She shrugged at Laura. “I guess it didn’t like me.”

Laura laughed and they continued along the trail. “So my dad was telling me that you and your mother moved here a few years ago?”

“Yeah, I still don’t know why she wanted to move here of all places. She's always going to some doctor in New York or Graz."

Laura looked back at her.

“I’m sorry. That must be hard.”

They fell silent for a while until Carmilla spotted a familiar animal trail. “Hey, do you feel like taking a little walk off the trail? I go out here all the time, we won’t get lost.” She assured her.

“Alright.” Laura followed Carmilla up a steep hillside until they got to a small waterfall.

“Wow. This is amazing. How did you find this place?”

_I tracked my first deer here three years ago._ “I come up here a lot and just walk. It helps clear my head.”

She took off her shoes and socks, dipped her feet in the stream and closed her eyes. She could hear Laura a few feet behind her, still wandering around.

“Whoa. I think something else has found this spot too.”

She opened her eyes and looked. Laura had gone around the far side of a gigantic spruce tree. She was standing between it and a large boulder. Carmilla almost groaned, but she got up to look at what Laura was staring at. She was tracing her fingers over long claw marks made in the tree. Her claw marks. She made them there deliberately, because who the fuck would look at a tree that was right in front of a very large boulder? She laughed.

“How did you find that?”

“I was looking at this rock, then I turned around and saw these scratch marks.” Carmilla laughed.

“They look kind of old. Maybe it was a bear.” She looked at Laura playfully.

“You and my dad. Maybe it was that panther.”

Carmilla rolled her eyes. “I’m out here all the time, cupcake and I’ve never even seen panther tracks. Plenty of deer tracks, but no panther tracks.”

Laura looked at her. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Laura said dejectedly.

_Well shit, cupcake. Don’t look at me with those sad puppy dog eyes._

“Come on.” The brunette grabbed her hand and led her to the edge of the stream.

She sighed and sat down beside her. "How are you liking Nachttal so far?"

“I’ve only been here two days but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Give it another three years.”

Laura elbowed her playfully in the ribs, “Where would you go if you go anywhere right now?”

She smirked. “That’s easy. Alberta. I love exploring the mountains out there.”

Laura laughed. “Really? You've been to Canada? Alberta is pretty nice. My mom took me there a few months ago for my 18th birthday.”

Laura laid back in the grass and closed her eyes.

Carmilla sighed. _Maybe I shouldn’t get too close to anyone right now. She already knows too much. I can’t risk her finding out about mother’s plan, or Mattie, or what I am…but maybe, just maybe she could help me figure a way out. I’ll have to start off small though…That was my problem with Elle. I never confided in her. Not that there is anything going on between me and Laura…yet. But maybe we could be friends. It’s been decades since I’ve had someone to confide in._

“Carm?” Laura tapped her hand.

Carmilla scowled and shook her head. “Hmm? Sorry, I was thinking about my mother.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “I suppose.”

“Did you ever date Hector? Or Anna?”

“Umm…no. I don’t date men, and Anna really isn’t my type. Why do you ask?”

“You just seemed angry after they announced that Anna is pregnant.”

Carmilla’s face hardened into a scowl and she let out a long sigh. _Why do you have to notice everything?_

“It’s not about them. I was just angry about something my mother asked me to do.”

“What did she ask you to do?”

Her eyes flashed dangerously at Laura.

“Laura, please! Just drop it. I’ll answer anything else you want to ask me, just not that.”

Her expression softened. “I’m sorry. Things with my mother have just been strained lately.”

Laura touches her arm lightly. “It’s okay. I’m not saying right now, but if you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”

She covered Laura’s hand with her own. “I know you would. Come on, it’s getting late, let’s head back.”

Once they got back to their cars, Laura was out of breath and Carmilla was amused.

“You need to do this more often.”

“Yeah, sure. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have to work, then I’m making a trip to Graz. Why’s that?”

“You took me up here, maybe I could take you to the pond by my house.”

Carmilla put her sunglasses on and flashed a smile at her. _Sure, I go there all the time anyway._

“What about next week? I’ll be in Graz for a while.”

“What’s in Graz?”

She hesitated.

“Oh, I’m going to hang out with some people there. I’ll call you when I get back though. Okay?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got more writing done than I expected to this weekend, so here is Chapter 4. Enjoy!

Going to the café had become part of her morning routine. Even when Carmilla wasn’t there, Laura would come in and chat with Alex a bit. He seemed friendly enough, she couldn’t understand why Carmilla was so hard on him all the time. When she walked in this morning and saw Carmilla there she was surprised.

 

“Hey! How was your trip to Graz?” She asked as she sat down at the counter.

 

“It was nice. I got to spend some time with my sister. I don’t get to do that very often.”

 

“I didn’t know you have a sister.”

 

“You never asked. There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” Carmilla laughed and winked. “I’ll bring you your cocoa.”

 

Even though she hadn’t known her for very long, Laura felt like there was still something off about Carmilla today. Maybe she still hadn’t gotten over the Steiner’s expecting a baby. Maybe something happened between her and her sister.

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone calling her name.

 

“Laura?”

 

She looked up. “Hey! Susan!”

She got up and hugged her.

 

“Actually, it’s LaFontaine now. It’s less about the “she” and more about the “they” these days. It can take some getting used to.”

 

“Okay. Dad was telling me that you started at Silas University last semester. How is it? I was thinking of doing a tour. I hear they have an excellent journalism program.”

 

“Yeah, the school newspaper is always an interesting read. It seems like there is always something new to report on in Silas. You should definitely come check out the campus.”

 

Carmilla brought their orders.

 

“Carm?” Laura touched her arm to make the taller woman pause for a moment, but she didn’t move her hand.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What are you doing tonight?”

 

“I don’t have anything planned, yet.”

 

“Do you maybe want to come over and do some star gazing with me tonight?”

 

Carmilla grinned and bit her lip. “Yeah. That sounds fun.”

 

She turned around and Laura watched the way her hips moved when she walked, temporarily forgetting that LaFontaine was there.

 

LaFontaine was silently watching this exchange with a smirk. They got up, grabbed their to-go cup and touched Laura on the shoulder. “Hey, I’ve gotta go. Can I swing by later or tomorrow and catch up?”

 

“Oh, Yeah. That sounds nice! I’ll text you. It was nice to see you again LaFontaine!”

 

Carmilla leaned on the counter near Laura. “So, you know LaF huh?”

 

“Yeah, her.... sorry, their parents live next door to my dad. We would hang out sometimes when I would visit my dad.”

 

“Cool.”

 

Laura finished her cocoa and got up to leave. “I’m shadowing my dad at the paper today. I’ll text you later when we get home.”

 

“Alright. See you later. “

 

Laura walked to her dad’s work with a grin on her face.

 

***

 

Laura was frantically rummaging through the drawers in the guest room looking for a specific large blanket they had somewhere while her dad watched from the doorway with an amused expression on his face. Carmilla would be here any minute.

 

“Are you two going to camp out there?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe.” She hadn’t really thought it through. She just wanted to stargaze with Carmilla.

 

“So, do you like this girl?”

 

She gave her dad a look. “I... I don’t know yet.” She said truthfully. “Maybe? I haven’t figured it out yet.”

 

Her dad laughed. “Alright. I’ll go get the tent out of the garage and put it on the back porch.”

 

“Thanks Dad!”

 

There were several loud knocks on the front door. Laura ran past her dad to answer it.

 

Carmilla was standing there in tight black jeans, and a t-shirt that had Silas University 1874 on it. She had put on red lipstick and had a backpack casually slung over her shoulder and was carrying two large to-go cups from the cafe.

 

“Hey. Come in. I’m almost ready.”

 

“Here, I brought you some coffee.”

 

Laura panicked.

 

“Kidding, creampuff. Calm down. It’s cocoa.”

 

She led her to the living room and apologized.

 

“I’m sorry, I’ll be right back. I have to grab a couple of things and change, I’ll be right back.”

 

“No worries.” She flashed a smile at her and took a sip of her drink.

 

Laura rushed up to her room, changed into her favorite jeans and a red plaid shirt. She grabbed a blanket and went back downstairs to find Carmilla and her dad chatting on the sofa.

 

“Alright. We’ll see you later dad!”

 

“Bye! Be careful!”

Laura laid the blanket on the ground next to the pond while Carmilla surveyed the area. “Is this where you saw that panther?”

 

“No, I saw it closer to the house.”

“Did your dad see it?”

 

Laura sighed. “No. I don’t think he believes me. He thinks I saw a bear. You believe me, right?”

 

Carmilla turned to look at her, her expression unreadable. “Yeah,” She said after a moment. “Maybe there is a panther out there. But maybe you shouldn’t tell anyone. I don’t think anyone else has seen it. You wouldn’t want someone to hurt it right?”

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Dad would probably just piss it off and spray it with bear spray.” She shook her head.

 

Carmilla sat beside her with a smirk. “Well, somehow I don’t think pepper spray is going to hurt it.”

 

Carm lays down with her hands behind her head. Laura mimics her.

 

“You’re shivering. Come here.”

 

Carm pulled her against her chest then twisted around to get a blanket out of her bag and covered them both.

 

Laura’s heart was beating so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear Carmilla’s.

 

Carmilla ran her hands up and down her arm. “Look.”

She pointed at a spot directly above them. “Delphinus. The Greek God Poseidon sent a dolphin to find Amphitrite, a sea nymph that he wanted to marry.”

 

Laura swallowed. “My mom loved dolphins. She was always painting them.” She untangled herself from the brunette and took a shaky breath.

 

“I just wish that I could have had more time with her. It was the first day of summer break and she was teasing me that it was one of my last summers that I could just lay around and do nothing.” Carm hesitantly touched her hand. “She was driving to work and there was a car speeding in the wrong direction. I was on the phone with Dad when the police showed up at the door. They were really nice and drove me to the hospital.” She sniffed and looked up at the stars. “But it was too late by the time we got there.”

 

Laura sucked in a deep breath, unable to look at Carmilla yet, she could feel hot tears starting to run down her face. The brunette had turned on her side, to face Laura.

 

She gently touched her cheek and wiped her tears away.

 

She turned to look at her and got caught up in the way she looked in the glow of a full moon. Laura inched her way closer to Carmilla, their hands intertwining. Laura cupped Carmilla’s face, their eyes closed.

 

“Hey girls!”

 

A voice came from behind them. They both jumped about a foot in the air and put more distance between them. Laura sat up angrily and watched her dad walk into the clearing.

 

_What the hell dad?!_

 

“I brought you some bear spray! I noticed you didn’t take any.” Carmilla failed to stifle her laugh. She cleared her throat and took a drink from her cup.

 

“Thanks, Dad.”

 

He stood there awkwardly for a moment as he eyed Carmilla’s blanket. “Okay, well you girls be careful. I’ll be up for a few more hours if you need anything else.”

 

Laura shook her head as she walked back to Carmilla. She laid down. “Dammit. Ouch. I think there’s a rock under here.”

 

She snuggled into Carmilla without being invited, she could practically hear her roll her eyes, but she felt her lips kiss the hair on the top of her hair, running her hands over it.

 

Laura looked up at Carmilla and noticed something at the corner of her mouth. “Carm? Is that blood? Are you bleeding?”

 

“What? Oh.” She laughed and pointed to her cup. “It’s beet juice.” She ran her fingers through Laura’s hair and Laura settled in against her chest again.

 

Laura pointed up, “Isn’t that Cassiopeia?”

 

She looked up at Carmilla. She smirked. “Yeah, the Queen of Ethiopia.”

 

They laid there pointing out constellations while Carmilla told their stories for several more hours until Carmilla said softly. “I would love to stay here with you but I have to get home now, cupcake.”

 

They gathered everything up and Laura walked Carmilla to her car.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 

Laura grinned. “Of course.”

 

Carmilla smiled mischievously and kissed her on the cheek. “Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight, Carmilla.”

 

 

Laura met up with LaFontaine at the café the next morning, but she kept catching herself watching Carmilla. LaF had just gone on for about ten minutes about…something and she had no idea what. She nodded her head and tried to keep up.

 

“…the previous Dean was eaten by an anglerfish God that she was sacrificing virgins to. Some people say that she’s alive and just hiding out in the library.”

 

They both turned to look as a crash came from the front counter. Carmilla had shattered a glass.

 

Laura blinked at LaF. “Sorry, umm what did you say?”

 

LaF raised their eyebrows and sighed. “You weren’t paying attention, so I turned my Biology story into this weird rumor that keeps floating around. People have nothing better to do than make up stories to try and scare freshman. Come on, do you want to go to the park?”

 

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

 

She turned to look at Carm. “Bye Carm.”

 

“Bye.”

Once they sat down on the park bench, LaF raised their eyebrows, “Wow. So, you and Carm, huh?”

 

“What? No!”

 

LaF gave her a look. “You two were practically eye fucking when you said bye just now.”

 

She couldn’t help the smile that came across her face.

 

“Okay. Maybe. But nothing has happened yet. I’m not even sure she likes me like that.”

 

LaF smirked. “Are you kidding? She’s friendly enough in there but in school,” They shake their head. “She keeps to herself. I’ve never even seen her so much as give a girl a second glance. She just keeps her head buried in her books.”

 

Laura bites her lip then changes the subject. “Sorry I wasn’t listening to you in there. How was your first semester at Silas?”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry I haven’t been posting. I should be posting a new chapter every week from now on. Thanks for reading! :)

Carmilla glanced at the clock as she finished cleaning the cafe. It was 4 am and she was starving. Technically the cafe was open 24/7, but none of the people in Natchttal ever came in past midnight. Anyone coming in after that was probably a very unlucky tourist.

Carmilla locked everything up and walked out the back door of the cafe. She walked a few feet into the woods and changed into her panther form. She closed her eyes and felt the dirt shift underneath her as she flexed her paws. She takes off at a run, checking to make sure everything is as it should be around the town. Mother was in the den reading and snapping at Will for disturbing her. Carmilla quickly moved on to the Steiner's house. Anna was sound asleep but Hector was pacing and muttering to himself in his office. LaF was wide awake but Carmilla didn't pay much attention. She was in a hurry to get to the Hollis house but was disappointed to see that all the lights were off and Laura was asleep.

She moved on to the pond pausing only long enough to get a drink and pick up a scent of a bear that had been at the pond not long before her. She followed the scent to the waterfall and spotted the brown bear was eating a large fish. Carmilla waited until it was done before she walked into the clearing snarling with her ears laid flat against her head. The bear stands on its hind legs and sniffs the air then growls. Carmilla roars at the bear and it runs off into the woods. She hated chasing brown bears out of her territory, they were only just coming back to Austria. She just couldn't risk Laura running into it even if she was armed to the hilt with bear spray. She soon picked up the scent of several deer and takes off closer to town. She catches up with them on the edge of town, just grazing on flowers on the side of the road.

She crouches low to the ground, staying as still as possible while she singles out the deer closest to her. She flexes her paws in the dirt and makes a gigantic leap on to the deer. She feels her enormous teeth sink into it’s neck.

****

Now full, Carmilla, decided to take another walk around the pond behind the Hollis' house. She knew it was about 5:30 in the morning. She should probably head back to the cafe soon. The sky was getting progressively lighter. She stopped just short of the tree line around the pond and sniffed the air then sighed. A human was here. _Who the fuck is crazy enough to be out here at this hour?_

 She moved downwind to catch the scent. Maybe she could scare them off. It had been so long since she had amused herself by scaring the locals. She caught the scent.

It was Laura.

She scanned the clearing and smirked (well as much as a panther can smirk) when she spotted Laura sitting under a tree directly across the pond from her. She wasn't paying attention and was drawing in her notebook.

Carmilla slunk forward slowly, weighing her options. She could just go back to work and Laura would never see her. Or, she could go get a drink and see what her reaction would be. Maybe she would tell her all about it when she came in for cocoa later?

The pond was one of her favorite hunting spots, even before Laura moved here. She noticed that without thinking about it, she was already out of the cover of the trees and headed to the edge of the pond.

Laura looked up and Carmilla moved her head so it seemed like she hadn't spotted her. The blonde’s heart was hammering. She was at the water's edge and bent down to get a drink. Laura's heartbeat slowed slightly. She was watching her. Carmilla was amused and surprised that she hadn’t gotten up and tried to leave. She looked at Laura directly as she lifted her head from the water. Laura couldn't hear it from that distance but she was purring. Shit, she was definitely falling for this girl. Laura, understandably looked frightened.

_Maybe I could make myself look less frightening._ Carmilla thought.

She padded over closer to where Laura was, now unable to move and huddled against the tree as of it were an anchor. She had stopped breathing.

The panther stopped short about 20 yards from her, thankful that she hadn’t screamed. This was a really stupid idea, but she couldn’t just stop now.

She started purring intentionally and flopped down on her back, hoping that Laura would look. She did. She started breathing again. Her heartbeat was still beating faster than normal but it had slowed considerably. The large panther started rolling around and playfully pawing at the air, flicking her long black tail.

Laura just sat there in amazement and watched. Carmilla got up, shook herself off and stretched. Then without thinking about it, she closed the 20 yards between her and Laura. Their eyes were fixed on each other’s the whole time. Carm tried to smile at her but realized a second too late that it probably looked like she was going to eat her.

Laura gasped. Carmilla was now directly in front of her. If she wanted to, she could reach out and touch her. It had been such a long time since someone scratched behind her ears. She unconsciously started purring at the thought of Laura doing exactly that.

Laura’s eyes widened in...what exactly was that? Not fear....

“Oh my God. There’s no way! Carm??…” she whispered, barely audible but Carmilla caught every word.

_Shit. How the fuck am I going to explain this?_ She growled and took off into the woods towards Laura’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had writer’s block a few weeks ago and a friend suggested writing Carmilla and Laura’s reaction to watching Twilight. Carmilla was not impressed. Let me know if you want me to include it in this story. Thanks for all the kudos and comments! :)


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